Souvenir graduation cap with removable crown



y 26, 1954 T. E. KELLY 3,134,107

SOUVENIR GRADUATION CAP WITH REMOVABLE CROWN Filed Oct. 19, 1961 FIG. I FIG. 2

FIG. 3

FIG. 6

THOMAS ELLIS KELLY INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent ()fiice 3,134,107 Patented May 26, 1 964 3,134,107 SOUVENIR GRADUATION CAP WITH REMQVABLE CROWN Thomas Ellis Kelly, Huntington Valley, Pa., assignor to Louis E. Stilz Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Oct. 19, 1961, Ser. No.146,252 4 Claims. (Cl. 2-200) This invention relates to an improvement in a graduation cap of the type comprising a crown and a flat square top, commonly known as a mortarboard. More particularly, this invention relates to an improved graduation cap having component parts which may be assembled quickly at low cost and which are readily detachable for laundering or souvenir purposes, and to an improved method of manufacturing the same.

Caps of the above type are for the most part rented, although some graduates prefer to buy them to keep as mementos of a happy occasion. Those engaged in selling and renting graduation caps have for a long time sought to make an inexpensive cap, capable of being manufactured in assembly line fashion and having an easily detachable crown which may be readily laundered and quickly and economically attached to the top.

Since the tops are generally made of cardboard or similar material, it is necessary to detach the crown from the cap to facilitate laundering the rented caps upon their return. In most caps the crown is sewn to the top and must be ripped off prior to laundering and subsequently sewn again to the top. Instead of sewing or otherwise permanently attaching the crown to the top it has been proposed to provide fastening means such as. a plurality of threaded nut and screw members. When such fasteners are used, however, it is necessary to provide rigid support and reinforcing means of a metallic nature which not only add to the cost of the cap, but substantially increase its weight and may cause discomfort to the wearer. In addition, its assembly and disassembly are time consuming and burdensome.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide an improved graduation cap of the mortarboard type and an improved method of manufacturing the same.

It is another object of my invention to provide a graduation cap having a crown which may be easily detached for laundering purposes and then readily attached to the top.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a graduation cap with means for inscribing autographs for souvenir purposes which means are also easily detachable from the cap as a souvenir for those who desire only to rent, but not retain the cap.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description and appended claims when considered with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is an inverted plan view of the mortarboard top placed on the material used as covering therefor.

FIGURE 2 is an inverted plan view of the mortarboard top showing the covering folded over and attached thereto.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of one of the two sides of the outer shell of the crown.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the crown showing the open mesh disc used to facilitate attachment of the crown and souvenir disc to the mortarboard top.

FIGURE 5 is a bottom perspective view of the crown showing the souvenir disc covering the open mesh disc.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a finished cap embodying the improvements of the instant invention.

In one embodiment of my invention a substantially rigid, square mortarboard top 1, made of carboard or the like, is covered with cloth or other suitable material 2. The board may be covered in any convenient manner. For example, the cloth covering may be cut in the form of a square with the corners removed, as shown in FIG- URE 1, and folded over the board, forming four inward folds as shown in FIGURE 2, leaving a small portion of the underside of the board uncovered. Alternatively, the complete square of the cloth may be used to totally cover the underside of the board. The cloth is attached to the board with glue or other suitable adhesive means. It is preferred, however, to utilize as a covering a cloth coated on its unexposed side with a heat scalable adhesive. A warm iron is applied to the cover to make it adhere to the board. A button or similar ornament 3, provided with fastening means, is secured to the mortarboard top, the underside of the button being shown in FIGURE 2. The button is secured only to the board and serves merely as an ornament and to hold the cord 13 and tassel 14. It is not used to secure any part of the crown to the mortarboard top. As will be seen, the removal of the crown from the board for laundering and the removal of the souvenir disc 12 from the crown for use as a memento is thus unhindered by the button.

The outer shell of the crown is conveniently made from two pieces of cloth 4a and 4b (FIGURE 4) cut in the form shown in FIGURE 3, the two long and two short ends being stitched together to form seams 9 and 10 in the front and back, respectively. In a like manner a cotton or other suitable lining 11 may be prepared and sewn to the shell. It is preferred, however, to utilize a nonwoven fabric as the lining to facilitate laundering of the crown and also to render it resilient to minimize creasing. The outer shell and lining may also be made from single pieces of material cut in the shape formed by the two pieces when the shorter or longer end of one piece is sewn to a like end of the other, thus resulting in a single seam.

The upper perimeter 5 of the crown shell is bent inwardly towards the upper opening in the center of the crown shell and gathered by sewing to form folds 6, thereby decreasing the size of this opening and providing a substantially horizontal and substantially elliptical shelf 7 surrounding the opening, to which is sewn open mesh disc 8, as shown in FIGURE 4, thereby covering the upper opening.

Disc 8 is preferably made of buckram cloth or flexible nylon and is provided with a plurality of openings forming an open network or mesh. The disc may also be made of other suitable materials provided with an open network. The crown is inverted and placed upon the underside of the mortarboard top. A thin layer of glue or other suitable adhesive is spread upon the underside of open mesh disc 8. Souvenir signature disc 12, made of cardboard or other suitable material, may, if desired, be placed upon the underside of the open mesh disc and adhered thereto. Cord 13 provided with tassel 14 may be draped or wound around button 3 as an additional ornament, as shown in FIGURE 6.

The advantages of providing the crown with an open mesh disc are manifold. In addition to the fact that in a single gluing operation the crown is attached to the mortarboard top and the souvenir signature disc to the crown, it can also be seen that the utilization of an open network provides the relatively large disc with a relatively small surface area for adherence of the crown to the mortarboard top and of the souvenir signature disc to the open mesh disc. The surface area thus provided by the open mesh disc is sufficient for adherence thereto of the top and souvenir disc, yet not so large as to make the seals so extensive and of such a permanent nature as to destroy or damage the open mesh disc or the mortarboard top or souvenir disc when such are detached from one another for the purposes described herein. A thin coating of adhesive applied to the open mesh disc is suflicient to effect the adherence of the components without effecting a tear seal upon their disassembly. Since the open mesh disc is interposed between the souvenir disc and the top, they do not adhere to each other. Thus, by holding the mortarboard top with one hand and the crown with the other, the crown may be detached from the top with a singlequick snap of the wrists. In a like manner the souvenir disc, bearing the signatures and well wishes of classmates, may be detached from the crown. Since the button 3 is not secured to any part of the crown, it does not hinder the disassembly of the cap. The cord and tassel may also be easily detached from the button.

The detached crown, after removal of the souvenir disc, may be readily laundered, any adhesive remaining on disc 8 also being easily removed by the solvent flowing through the open network. The components are then quickly assembled by applying adhesive to the open mesh disc and attaching the mortarboard top and a new souvenir signature disc thereto.

I have thus provided a novel and inexpensive graduation cap with component parts which are easily detachable for laundering and souvenir purposes, and a novel and inexpensive method for its manufacture. Those who desire to merely rent such caps may remove and keep the souvenir signature disc without damaging the crown and return the rest of the cap, whereupon it may be further disassembled, cleaned and reassembled. Since the component parts are complete units, independent of each other, one or more of the other components, i.e. the crown, mortarboard top, or tassel and cord, may be kept as mementos, and credit obtained for return of the remainder. The souvenir caps retained by those buying the same may be reused for similar occasions and, if necessary, may be disassembled, laundered and reassembled in the manner indicated.

While I have described my invention with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited thereto and that variations and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A graduation cap comprising a substantially rigid mortarboard top, a crown having a shell and means for releasably attaching said crown to the underside of said mortarboard top, said means comprising an open mesh disc disposed within and attached to the upper perimeter of said shell and adhering to said mortarboard top by separable adhesive means on its open network surface thereby rendering the crown easily removable from said top.

2. A graduation cap comprising a substantially rigid mortarboard top, a crown having a shell provided with an upper opening surounded by a substantially horizontal shelf and means for releasably attaching said crown to the underside of said mortarboard top, said means comprising an open mesh disc disposed within said upper opening and attached to said shelf at the upper perimeter of said shell and adhering to said mortarboard top by separable adhesive means on its open network surface thereby rendering the crown easily removable from said top.

3. A graduation cap according to claim 1 wherein the open mesh disc comprises flexible nylon.

4. A graduation cap according to claim 1 wherein the open mesh disc comprises buckram cloth.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 847,809 Ollard Mar. 19, 1907 1,775,185 Aldrich Sept. 9, 1930 1,934,114 Brander Nov. 7, 1933 2,111,444 Bauer Mar. 15, 1938 2,248,497 Gelvin July 8, 1941 2,258,100 Reiss et a1. Oct. 7, 1941 2,289,370 Krag July 14, 1942 2,566,635 Reddy Sept. 4, 1951 2,572,641 Manley Oct. 23, 1951 2,992,149 Drelich July 11, 1961 3,018,487 OReilly Jan. 30, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 955,834 France July 4, 1949 1,199,680 France June 22, 1959 

1. A GRADUATION CAP COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID MORTABOARD TOP, A CROWN HAVING A SHELL AND MEANS FOR RELEASABLY ATTACHING SAID CROWN TO THE UINDERSIEE OF SAID MORTARBOARD TOP, SAID MEANS COMPRISING AN OPEN MESH DISC DISPOSED WITHIN AND ATTACHED TO THE UPPER PERIMETER OF SAID SHELL AND ADHERING TO SAID MORTARBOARD TOP BY SEPARABLE ADHESIVE MEANS ON ITS OPEN NETWORK SURFACE THEREBY RENDERING THE CROWN EASILY REMOVABLE FROM SAID TOP. 